The Art of the Steal - L'arte del furto

The Art of the Steal doesn't have the class of Ocean's Eleven, Guy Ritchie's eccentric bad boys, nor does it have the wry wit of In Bruges, but it does have enough enthusiasm, convoluted plot, split- screen framing, and seasoned cast anchored by Kurt Russell and Terence Stamp to make this dead-zone time of movie year bearable until May.

This religious texts heist, however, does have some class—art to be specific—and the Seurat original, along with some Mona Lisa recollections, is the main object of the crime. Russell's Crunch Calhoun and Matt Dillon's half-brother Nicky do one last heist, a thriller mainstay that promises much will go wrong before the denouement. Writer- director Jonathan Sobol's double-crosses and cocky hooligans last to the twisted end for a real "last" one.

With Jay Baruchel playing the greenhorn, and therefore the vulnerable part of the plan, fun ensues as he questions the sanity of the plan's convoluted steps. Even more fun is watching a deadpan Terence Stamp play a federal informer whose British accent and considerable knowledge of art inform every suspenseful moment with the exotic, the cultural, and the dangerous.

Part of the joy is trying to figure out where his character fits in with the lawful and the unlawful. Not happy, however, is the over-the-top reactions of Jason Jones' Interpol agent, Bick. Blame director Jonathan Sobol for not seeing the chasm between this sophomoric performance and Stamp's nuanced turn.

Kurt Russell has been in showbiz for at least a half century, and while his face shows some wear, his actorly sensibilities are sharply delivered in a film whose comic moments and frequent plot twists offer a brief respite in a waning but still ornery winter.

"If you got no trust that what do you got?" Crunch (Russell) and Nicky (Dillon) are brothers and partners in crime. When a job goes bad and they are both caught only Crunch ends up doing time. When he gets out he tries to go straight and becomes a motorcycle daredevil. When he tires of crashing for a few hundred bucks he agrees to pull off one last heist with his old team. They only thing standing in their way of pulling off the perfect heist is trust. This movie was a great surprise for me. I knew nothing about this going in and I think that helped my enjoyment of it. The movie was super fun to watch, really funny with a smart plot. This is the closest heist movie to the Ocean's series that has been made. Just like the Ocean's series the heist itself is fun to watch and the pay off brings it over the top. This is the kind of movie you can't say too much about without giving anything away but what I can say is watch this. One of the biggest surprises and funnest movies I have seen in a while. Overall, heist movie fans will love this...I did. I give this an A-.

What a cast! I have to put that out there first. Matt Dillon, Kurt Russell, but also Terence Stamp (every word he's saying has such a weight and him going for comedy, is so great). Actually everyone involved makes it look so effortless. Heist movies of course might not be everyones thing and people might argue, that after Oceans Eleven (or the sequels), there is nothing left to say.

Yes this may be predictable and may or may not make much sense under scrutiny, but it is too fun to watch, twist and turn and go different directions, that it would be a shame for you not to enjoy it. And I can't stress out enough, that this also has a lot to do with the cast involved. The script is good, but you have to have people deliver it. Every role is cast in a great way and this movie makes no secret that it wants to entertain you. It's not as wrangled up as "Now you see me" (which is also better), but it doesn't have to be

The heist genre is old, so what is new and worth watching about this particular heist movie? The jokes. They are really sharp, fast, original and witty. And those jokes are delivered by a bunch of great actors: Matt Dillon, Kurt Russell and a delightful cool, calm and collected Terence Stamp. They all act really good.

The story is tight and fast moving and funny. Kurt Russell plays a gangster in need of money. Well, that´s news! He desperately needs money though and that's the reason he agrees to do an impossibly difficult heist. Will he succeed anyway?

Any bad? It's a bit too clever for the sake of wanting to be clever. And it's still a copycat of Ocean's Eleven, but an enjoyable copycat...

Motorcycle rider Crunch Calhoun (Kurt Russell) is in a crew with his half-brother Nicky Calhoun (Matt Dillon), Paddy MacCarthy (Kenneth Welsh), and forger Guy (Chris Diamantopoulos). Their mark is Stash Bartkowiak who had a stolen Gauguin from an Oslo gallery. They are discovered and Nicky rats out Crunch. Seven years in a Polish prison (5 1/2 with good behavior) later, Crunch is out and out of crime for good. He's daredevil motorcycle riding working with his girlfriend Lola (Katheryn Winnick) and apprentice Francie Tobin (Jay Baruchel). Interpol Agent Bick (Jason Jones) is after a stolen Seurat with the help of informant Samuel Winter (Terence Stamp). Nicky outsmarts them and double cross Sunny who then threatens Crunch for his money. Crunch is pulled back in with Nicky.

There are too many capers and too many complicated expositions. Writer/director Jonathan Sobol has pack this in with so many characters. It's a lower grade Guy Ritchie in Canada. He is starting to solidify his style along with 'A Beginner's Guide to Endings'. However this is a little bit too ambitious for him. Dillon-Russell anchors it with a complicated cute relationship. There are some funny bits, some fun dialog, and a whole lot of fun-like wacky. There is a particularly funny art piece. In the end, it just needs more comedy and a more simplified story.